Deformable or elastic accumulator



Feb. 22, 1944. J. MERCIER DEFORMABLE OR ELASTIC ACCUMULATOR OriginalFiled Sept. 13, 1938 INVENTOR JEAN MERCI ER BYCZI TORNEY Patented Feb.22,1944

UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE DEFORMABLE R ELASTIC ACOUMULATOR JeanMercier, New York, N. Y. I

Original application September 13, 1938, Serial l lo.- 229,641, nowPatent No. 2,817,395, dated April 27, 1943.

December 10, 1931*" In my co-pending application 229,641, filed able orelastic accumulator and retained claims in that application that aregeneric to that inodl- 5 ilcation. This application has. been drawn tocomply with the original requirement for division andthe claims hereinare drawn to the modification shown in the drawing of this application.

The present invention pertains to liquid storage devices and moreparticularly to a container in which'a source of pressure is applied tothe liquid being stored. I

Storage devices of this type generally consist of September 13, 1938, Ihave described a deform a container to be filled with the liquid and ofa rubber bag or the like inserted'in said container and filled with agas under pressure. When liquid is supplied to the container by asuitable source of liquid under pressure the bag will be compresseduntil the pressure of the gas inside said bag reaches the value of thepressure under which the liquid is supplied. Thereafter, liquid can bewithdrawn from the storage device under progressively decreasingpressure. a

When functioning'with a liquid operated system or unit the storagedevice will generally not be used to its full capacity, .that is, thebag will generally not be required to expand so as'to expel all theliquid from the container. However, when storage devices are installedon vehicles or aircraft it is of great interest that, at least in anemergency, the greatest possible amount of liquid can be expelled fromthe container so as to be available for the operation of the hydraulicdevices. Moreover; it is generally required that the last portions ofliquid leaving the container be available under considerable pressure,as. for instance, 1400 lb. per square inch or more. Consequently, thebag must be filled with a gas under high pressure.

On the other hand, the bag must possess great flexibility so that it canfollow without appremum and this application July 25, 1842, Serial No.

scnm'lmiss-m 452,364. In France liquid is admitted to or discharged fromthe con- It is the object of the present invention to pro-- vide astorage device in which the bag isprotected against injury resultingfrom excessive expansion and therefore is prevented from being forcedin-- to the passage, provided in the container for admission anddischarge of liquid. To that end, the

bag is attached to one end of the container and a This structure closesthe container when a predetermined expansion of the bag takes place andprecludes all possibility of injury to the bag.

Further features of the present invention may be gathered from thefollowing description of an embodiment ofthe present invention givenby-.

way of example and illustrated in the-accompanying drawing:

ciable resistance the frequent compressions and expansions required forthe normaloperation of the storage device. The bag must, consequently,be made of a material which is incapable of re- I sisting thecompression and expansion due to the gas-pressure.

It is a shortcoming of storage devices of this type.

that the bag, as soon as it fails to be completely supported by theliquid orby the wall of the container, is liable to be torn. Whenever itis "attempted to expel substantially all liquid from the container, thisshortcoming will cause injury to the bag. In most cases the bag isinjured because it is forced into the e through-which In the drawingthere is a container l, anda bag 8 attached to one end of the containerI at a point 8. At the opposite end of said container a passage I8 isprovided for the admission and discharge of liquid. Passage It extendsto a valve seat ll formed in the inner wall of container I. On theoutside of the container-pas sage member it there is a chamber 2iconnected by a pipe to a source of liquid under pressure and autilization circuit. The bag I carries a movable valve elementcomprising a poppet shaped valve head it inside container i, a stopmember 2! inside chamber II and a connecting rod is extending throughpassage II, in addition there are.

provided passages 23 in the stop member 22.

'When liquid is supplied to chamber 2! .it will lift the movable valveelement and the liquid may progressively illl the container and compressthe bag. When liquid is withdrawn from chamber Ii the bag willprogressively expand and the.

movable valve element will be lowered. when the bag has reached itsmaximum expansion, portion II will engage valve seat l'l thus closingthe container. 9

In order to facilitate the admission of liquid into the container, whenstop member 22 is anpassage member when enplied to the outer wall ofcontainer l passages 23 permit a flow through member 22. A spring 29 maybe provided in chamber 2| to urge member 22 against the wall ofcontainer I. The addition of this spring, will prevent a prematureclosing of passage it before all liquid is expelled from the container.The strength of spring 20 should be computed in proportion to thegas-pressure prevailing inside bag 5 when the latter is fully expanded,and must not exceed a value which will permit the pressure inside bag 5to force member l6 firmly against valve seat I! when there is a negativepressure exerted on member It by the liquid in chamber 2|.

The present application is a division of the copending applicationSerial No. 229,641, filed September 13, 1938, which has matured intoPatent,

No. 2,317,395, granted April 27, 1943.

The foregoing description is not intended to limit the scope of thepresent invention which does not depart from, but rather extends to allchanges, modifications and equivalents comprehended within the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. An accumulator for the storage of a liquid in a rigid containerprovided with ans inflow and outflow orifice at one end thereof'for saidliquid and another orifice at the other end thereof to which a flexibledeformable bag is afilxed in said containen'said bag being filled withgas under pressure, and valve means for controlling said liquid floworifice, said valve means including two cooperating valve elements, onerigid with said container and the other carried by said bag, said valvemeans being adapted normally to afford communication through said liquidflow orifice in both directions and to close said liquid fiow orifice soas to prevent further outflow from said container when substantially allliquid is expelled from the same.

2. An accumulator for the storage of a liquid in a rigid containerprovided with an inflow and outflow orifice at one end thereof for saidliquid, and another orifice at the other end thereof to which a flexibledeformable bag is affixed in said container, said bag being filled withgas under pressure, and valve means for controlling said liquid fioworifice, said valve means including two cooperating valve elements, onerigid with said container and the other carried by said bag, said valveelements being slidable with respect to each other so as to guide thedisplacements of said bag with respect to said container, said valvemeans being adapted normally to afford communication through said liquidflow orifice in both directions and to close said liquid flow orifice soas to prevent further outflow from said container when substantially allliquid is expelled from the same.

3. an accumulator for the storage of a liquid in a rigid containerprovided with an inflow and outflow orifice at one end thereof for saidliquid, and another orifice at the other end thereof to which a flexibledeformable bag is amxed in said container, said bag being filled withgas under pressure, and valve means for, controlling said liquid floworifice of the rigid'container, said valve means including twocooperating valve elements. to wit, a valve seat rigid with saidcontainer and surrounding said orifice, and a valve head carried by theother end of said bag, said valve means being adapted normally to affordcommunication through said liquid flow orifice in both directions and toclose said liquid flow orifice so as to prevent further outflow fromsaid container when substantially all liquid is expelled from the same.

4. An accumulator for the storage of a liquid in a rigid containerprovided with an inflow and outflow orifice for said liquid at one endof said container, another orifice at the other end thereof to which aflexible deformable bag is afiixed, in said container, said bag beingfilled with gas under pressure, and valve means for controlling saidliquid fiow orifice of the rigid container, said valve means includingtwo cooperating valve elements, to wit, a valve seat rigid with saidcontainer and surrounding said orifice, and a valve head adapted to beapplied against said seat, carried by the other end of said bag, astop-member outside said container, and a rod traversing said orificeand connecting said valve head to said stop-member.

5. An accumulator according to claim 4, and comprising resilient meansto urge said stopmember against the wall of said container.

JEAN MERCIER

